


To Know the World's True Yearning

by Mrs-BobbiWinchester (Skyeward_captasha)



Series: Autism acceptance fics [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Autism Acceptance, Autism Spectrum, Deaf!AU, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Fluff, Gen, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 14:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14451336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeward_captasha/pseuds/Mrs-BobbiWinchester
Summary: Fitz and Simmons meet at the Academy. She's Deaf; he's Autistic and nonverbal. They both use ASL, and she invites him to a social group for people in their area who sign. He makes friends and finally feels accepted for who he is.





	1. The World Spins Around While I'm Frozen to my Seat

**Author's Note:**

> This is such a bad story lol I wrote it at like 6am for a week and this is what I got. I've got the disease Simmons has, so I'm somewhat of an expert haha. I'm debating adding more chapters where I gloss/write out the signs used in ASL grammar, but I don't know. Let me know if y'all want that version since it's already written; all I would have to do is publish it. Hope you enjoy!

Jemma was thumbing through a hardback book on anatomy and physiology in the Academy library when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She immediately opened her mouth to apologize, but then shut it as soon as she realized that she didn’t have to because the boy in front of her was signing to her. 

He signed quickly but not perfectly, like he’d been learning for a few years and was good at it but not exactly clear on some of the more complex grammatical structures and nuances of the language. “My name’s Leo, but everybody calls me Fitz. I saw your interpreter in the lecture on biomechanics. You Deaf?” 

Jemma smiled and signed her answer quickly, but realized about a third of the way through that she should slow down given the bewildered expression on Fitz’s face. “I’m Jemma Simmons, and yep, I’m Deaf. You?” She asked, a big smile still on her face. It was rare to meet anybody new that she could sign with. 

“No. I’m Autistic. I don’t speak.” Fitz looked down a bit shyly and then forced himself to look back up at her so he could see her response. 

“That’s wonderful! I’m Autistic too! You always sign, or did you try another AAC form first? Your signs are a bit shaky, and your grammar isn’t perfect, is all.” She shrugged at the end, trying to convey that it really wasn’t a problem if his ASL wasn’t 100% accurate. 

“I’ve only been signing for a couple of years. Since I got here, actually…” He paused and looked around the Academy library, which had high ceilings and lots of windows to let in natural light. “They didn’t want a scientist who couldn’t communicate.” 

“I understand. I grew up signing. Where are you from?” She asked, pausing her signs halfway through to sneeze. She laughed it off and finished her sentence with a small smile before tacking on “allergies” at the end to explain her sneezing fit. 

“Glasgow. You?” 

“Sheffield! Really not too far from you. How old are you?” She was getting excited at the prospect of finally having someone to talk to around here. It had been terribly lonely her first few months, and she could imagine that he’d been through something similar given his expressions and faster signing. 

“Seventeen. I’ll be 18 in a few weeks, though.” 

“Cool! I just turned 17 in September, so I guess we’re both quite young. What are you studying? I’m in biochemistry.” She didn’t feel like doing the full word, so she fingerspelled “biochem” and left it at that. He would catch her drift, she hoped. 

He did and responded with “engineering” before turning around and looking out at the walkway in front of the library, where students and faculty alike were gathering and pointing up at the sky. 

Jemma didn’t understand what was happening when Fitz grabbed her wrist and pulled her out, her book entirely forgotten. When they got out there, they both immediately caught onto the situation. Someone had parachuted out of a plane, it looked like, and was currently stuck in one of the trees. Some students were laughing, while others ran to assist the faculty in getting the student--a freshman by the looks of it--down from the unfortunate position he’d found himself in. 

“Let’s go. I need to go check out that book, and then I have a paper to write on the history of the Science and Technology division. See you tomorrow in class!” Jemma signed hastily before waving goodbye and dashing back into the library, only to appear about 5 minutes later with her purse across her body, and a stack of books in her arms. Fitz was still standing there, smiling at her because she was so wonderful yet didn’t seem to realize it.


	2. I've Never Had a Group of Friends Before, I Promise I'll Make Y'all Proud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fitz meets the group!! Cuteness ensues.

It was a few days before Fitz got a chance to speak with Jemma again. She was absorbed in whatever she was doing on her laptop, and was leaning against the trunk of one of the oldest trees on campus. It was her favorite spot to study, and she came there quite often. He took a seat against an adjacent tree trunk where he could study and feel the sun on his face. 

He finished his homework and the chapter he was supposed to read in his mechanics book for tomorrow evening’s lecture. He yawned and rubbed his eyes frustratedly before looking up to see dark clouds sweeping across the sky. He heard thunder clap and went to get Jemma and bring her inside, even though the chances of her getting struck by lightning were infinitesimally small. 

They sat down in the dining hall and grabbed a late lunch of pasta and salad. “What do you think about going with me to a group for people who sign? It’s not just for Deaf people. It’s every Monday night at 6:30, and they’re all wonderful people. The girl who organizes it’s dad moderates it, and he gives us all French fries and sodas. You interested?” Jemma inquired with a smile. 

“Sounds fun. Want to drive together and save gas?” 

“Sure!” 

Fitz smiled and dug into his lunch, finishing a good five minutes before Jemma just because he was in a hurry to get back to his dorm and shower and get ready for an early night after watching the latest episode of Doctor Who. 

Jemma waved goodbye when he got up and pulled out one of the books that she’d bought at the library on Thursday, letting herself get sucked into the world of American politics and government structure. 

The following night, Jemma knocked on Fitz’s door wearing a navy blue polka dotted dress with white tights underneath. “Ready?” She signed with a big smile and pointed to her watch, where the hands showed that they had about 20 minutes to get there before group started. 

He nodded and grabbed his lanyard, locking the door behind him after he stepped out into the hallway to join her. “Let’s go. Don’t want to be late.” 

She led him down to the parking lot, where she was parked close to her dorm entrance. She had a blue placard hanging from her rearview mirror, and Fitz was curious. “Disabled parking?” He asked, a bit incredulously. 

“Oh. Yeah. Connective tissue disease. Causes my joints to dislocate a lot, so I can’t walk long distances. It’s why I’m Deaf, too. Something about the joints in my ear not being connected right so the sound doesn’t reach my inner ear.” She shrugged and started the car after buckling her seatbelt. 

“That sucks. Lots of pain, I’m assuming.” He frowned slightly and buckled in as well. 

“Yeah. Better me than someone else, though.” She shrugged and put her sunglasses on. She drove them to the restaurant where the group met, parked out front, and held the door for Fitz. “Don’t be nervous. Everyone’s really kind.” 

Fitz took some deep breaths and stood just inside the door, waiting for Jemma for a minute. She went up to the counter and the man behind it pointed her to a table where her friends were sitting. She led Fitz over there and introduced him to everyone. 

“Hi, I’m Daisy. I’m Hard of Hearing and my first language is ASL.” She smiled and shook his hand before sitting back down next to a Latina woman, who introduced herself as Elena. She was in the process of learning both English and ASL, as she’d grown up in Mexico and had only communicated in Spanish and Spanish Sign Language.   
After Elena, Fitz was introduced to a tall, blonde, woman and her shorter, more British counterpart, Bobbi and Hunter. They were both Deaf and wore hearing aids, whereas none of the others did. They weren’t native signers like Jemma and Daisy, but they were good enough to hold conversations in ASL with native speakers and understand 95% or more of the words. 

“I’m Fitz, but you all knew that. I’m not Deaf; I’m Autistic and nonverbal. Hope it’s alright that I’m kind of crashing your all-Deaf party…” He chuckled nervously and looked down at the plate in front of him before picking up a singular French fry and nibbling at it while the group insisted that he wasn’t intruding at all. 

“Actually, the majority of us are Autistic, too. I am, Hunter is, Simmons is, and Bobbi is.” Daisy smiled and dipped two of her fries in her chocolate milkshake before sticking them in her mouth, which made Fitz a tad nauseous. 

Fitz smiled shyly and waved to Bobbi and Hunter to acknowledge them. He shoved another fry in his mouth to preclude him from speaking, but then had an awkward moment where he remembered that he used ASL and could talk with his mouth full. 

He let himself fall into the comfortable silence--save for the occasional slap of hands together when somebody signed “stop” or “right”--of hanging out with a group of people who spoke his language. 

“Can we get more fries?” Daisy signed to a waiter, whom she seemed to know very well. Fitz didn’t inquire for fear of seeming weird. He nodded and came back a few minutes later with a heaping plate of French fries with salt both on top and on the side. 

The entire table thanked the waiter before digging into the fries and falling back into their previous conversations. Jemma and Bobbi were talking about their mutual love for the sciences, Daisy was in her own discussion with Elena about living as a Deaf person of color in America and the struggles that posed, which left Fitz and Hunter in an uncomfortable silence. 

“So… do you drink?” Hunter asked, clearly not knowing what were considered appropriate topics for conversation and what weren’t. 

Fitz chuckled and responded with a “sometimes” since he didn’t really know how to answer a question like that from someone he’d just met, but he then remembered who he was with and that Deaf people could be extremely blunt. 

Hunter smiled and ate a few more fries before inserting himself and Fitz into Bobbi and Jemma’s conversation since they’d abandoned science and were now talking about the latest captioned movie they’d seen. 

He felt like he finally had a place where he could fit in and be himself with these people. He added their phone numbers to his cell phone contacts and created a group message where he thanked everyone for including and accepting him into their circle so readily.


End file.
